BTT – Learning

You know, I don’t really remembering learning to read. Fairly dull of me, huh? I do remember being read to, so I suppose that’s my earliest reading memory. I have a vague memory of the Dick and Jane books when I began learning to read. As to really reading to myself, I recall devouring the Little House on the Prairie series.

What about you? What’s your response to today’s Booking Through Thursday question? Can you do better than I did? (Shouldn’t be too difficult!)

Joyce: The first book you read was “Hop on Pop.” Between recognizing a few words and a good memory you could “read” it at age two. The Dick and Jane books must have been at school. I never bought you any of those.

I remember sitting beside my mother on the screened-in porch in our Iowa farmhouse, learning to read from an old primer, probably at age 3 1/2. I know that when I started first grade at age 5 (no kindergarten there in those days) they didn’t know what to do with me so they put me in 2nd grade. My mother’s excuse was that she had heard they didn’t teach phonics in schools any more, and she wanted me taught phonics. They did have phonics charts in my school, though. But reading with me also probably helped her through lonely afternoons when Dad was out in the field and she was many miles from the nearest library. She also taught me to sing alto when I was 8 years old.